As a Democrat running for treasurer in one of the most staunchly Republican counties in the country, Bob Drake needed an edge.

He might have found one in a computer game designed to satirize an issue Hamilton County, Ohio, taxpayers are upset with - construction cost overruns on the Cincinnati Bengals' new stadium, set to open Aug. 19.

"Stadium Fiasco," developed for Drake's Web site, bobdrake.org, is a crude takeoff on the popular "Sim City" games. The object is to build the stadium before running out of the taxpayers' money.

"We're going to have some fun with this," says Drake, a University of Cincinnati professor who never has run for public office.

To date, more than 3,500 users have downloaded the game.

The game is easy to play but hard to win, as the computer interrupts with messages such as "Build disco for players' wives and girlfriends. Cost: $2 million." It is a jab at expenses that have run the stadium's cost to at least $45 million over budget.

Drake's opponent, Robert Goering, is aware of Drake's game but isn't taking it seriously. He says Drake is running for the wrong office. "The treasurer really just handles the money and doesn't set policy," Goering says.

Drake concedes Goering isn't responsible but should have done something about a deal that gave Bengals President Mike Brown "everything but the Suspension Bridge," a local landmark. (To read more on the Treasurer's role in the stadium, click here.)

Drake, who will host a "tournament" for fans to play the game at an area bar Aug. 9, is quick to point out that the game isn't anti-Bengals. Brown had no comment.

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